Spout forming strip remnant

ABSTRACT

A packet for viscous material includes a pouch that comprises an expressing-shaped first closure end and a second closure end and at least two opposing sidewalls. The closure ends and sidewalls define an enclosure. At least one closure end has an expressing shape and a separate rigid foldable flat cradles the pouch. The flat is of a material that is more rigid than the pouch. A spout-forming area separate from the pouch and the rigid foldable flat, is positioned on a rigid foldable flat side of the packet. The area is of intermediate rigidity or thickness to the pouch and the rigid foldable flat. The spout-forming area is derived as a remnant from a semi-rigid material strip that acts as a pouch-forming tacking strip during a pouch forming process. The spout-forming area reinforces at least a part of the pouch at the pouch expressing shape first closure end. The separate rigid foldable flat overlaps the spout-forming area to cradle the spout-forming area with the cradled pouch. A crease extends longitudinally in the flat and along the pouch to facilitate folding or rolling the more rigid flat to compress the pouch with the spout-forming area to express a content through the expressing-shaped first closure end.

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.11/613,661, filed Dec. 20, 2006, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety and this application is a continuation-in-partof U.S. application Ser. No. 12/200,376, filed Aug. 28, 2008 whichclaims benefit of provisional application 60/969,232 filed Aug. 31,2007, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to forming a packet, the packet and kit and methodfor dispensing a viscous material.

Viscous materials include sealant, mastic, adhesive, glazing, caulk,grout and glue compositions. Viscous materials also include siliconesealants and caulks that are used in building and constructionapplications. Some of these compositions are referred to as roomtemperature vulcanizable (RTV) compositions. They may include amoisture-curable polyorganosiloxane polymer, filler and a condensationcure catalyst.

In one procedure, a quantity of sealant is directly expressed from adispensing tube or cartridge to a crevice or other area in need ofsealing. Typically, the dispensing tube or cartridge is unwieldy anddifficult to use on small jobs. Also, the tube or cartridge usuallycontains more material than an amount required for a particular job andsome unused portion of the tube contents remains after a required amounthas been dispensed. A dispensing tube with an unused portion isdiscarded or is saved for future use. Discarding is uneconomical and maybe highly undesirable for environmental reasons. At present, there is noknown recycling available for the wide variety of sealant compositionsavailable on the market. If the container with residual sealant is notdiscarded, it is capped to save the material for future use. But, thesealant may include a volatile component that will evaporate to hardenresidual material. Other sealants may be settable from exposure toatmosphere oxygen. In these cases, unless the container is correctlyreclosed, residual material will be lost.

Some dispensing containers are merchandised with a nozzle-engaging,snap-fit bead and grooved or screw threaded cap to provide a secure fitto the container body. But these caps are fragile pieces that are easilysplit or otherwise damaged from over-tightening. Or, the snap-fit beadand groove may not provide an enduring reclose fit until the time whenthe tube is next required for a caulk job. Some informal capping deviceshave included a nail that can be placed into the tube opening to effecta plug type reclosure. Or, the container cap may be merchandised with aplug member to provide this function. But, these solutions do not avoidcontent hardening for more than a short period of time.

Other reclosing approaches have included wrapping the container tip withaluminum foil or plastic wrap, securing with a rubber band and enclosingthe entire container in a sealable plastic packet. But, oftentimes thesemechanisms do not work because the packets rupture or the packetscontain enough air to dry the tube contents. Additionally, a foil orwrap can not be closely and tightly fitted around the tube and nozzlewithout air gap.

There is a need for a viscous material dispensing packet that overcomesthese problems of waste and difficulty of use. Also, there is a need fora reasonably priced solution to these problems.

Additionally, the present invention relates to a horizontal packagingmachine and method to efficiently and economically produce the viscousmaterial dispensing packet of the invention. In one method andapparatus, a continuous web of material is converted into a plurality ofindividual pouches. The continuous web of material is folded in halfover a plow to form two continuous side panels joined by a bottom fold.The folded web is passed through a series of seal bars which formtransverse seals between the side panels, thereby forming a strip ofpouches interconnected by transverse seals. A cutter cuts through eachtransverse seal to form individual pouches with unsealed top edges. Theindividual pouches are transferred to pouch filler, filled with product,and sealed. The sealed pouches are then collected for transport.

There is a need to improve this method to address a problem ofefficiently and economically forming and filling the viscous materialdispensing packet of this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a packet, method and kit to overcome currentproblems of waste, cost and difficulty of use of viscous materialdispensing packets. Additionally, the invention provides a method andapparatus to efficiently and economically form and fill the inventionviscous material dispensing packet.

In an embodiment, the invention is a packet for viscous materialincludes a pouch that comprises an expressing-shaped first closure endand a second closure end and at least two opposing sidewalls. Theclosure ends and sidewalls define an enclosure. At least one closure endhas an expressing shape and a separate rigid foldable flat cradles thepouch. The flat is of a material that is more rigid than the pouch. Aspout-forming area separate from the pouch and the rigid foldable flat,is positioned on a rigid foldable flat side of the packet. The area isof intermediate rigidity or thickness to the pouch and the rigidfoldable flat. The spout-forming area is derived as a remnant from asemi-rigid material strip that acts as a pouch-forming tacking stripduring a pouch forming process. The spout-forming area reinforces atleast a part of the pouch at the pouch expressing shape first closureend. The separate rigid foldable flat overlaps the spout-forming area tocradle the spout-forming area with the cradled pouch. A crease extendslongitudinally in the flat and along the pouch to facilitate folding orrolling the more rigid flat to compress the pouch with the spout-formingarea to express a content through the expressing-shaped first closureend.

In another embodiment, A method of forming and filling a squeezablepackage, the method comprising: directing a web of flexible film and asemi-rigid strip in a machine direction; folding the web of film to havea pair of opposing walls having a front wall and a back wall andpositioning the strip between the front and back wall; selectivelysealing a first opposing wall to the strip but not a second of theopposing walls to form an opening; removing sections from the folded webof film to provide multiple pouches connected at an upper portionthereof; separating the connected pouches from the web of film toprovide at least one individual pouch with an upper opening; filling aninterior section of the at least one individual pouch through the upperopening of the at least one pouch with a flowable material; sealing thesecond opposing wall to the strip to close the opening; and removing anon-linear section in the upper portion of the pouch to form thesqueezable package having a trapezoid-shaped inner section derived as aremnant from the strip.

A kit according to the invention, comprises: an enclosure; a pluralityof sealed packets contained within the enclosure, at least one packetcomprising a pouch comprising: an expressing-shaped first closure endand a second closure end and at least two opposing sidewalls; theclosure ends and sidewalls defining an enclosure, and at least oneclosure end comprising an expressing shape; a separate rigid foldableflat cradling the pouch and comprising a material that is more rigidthan the pouch; wherein the pouch comprises a spout-forming areaseparate from the pouch and the rigid foldable flat and positioned on arigid foldable flat side of the packet and of intermediate rigidity orthickness to the pouch and the rigid foldable flat, wherein thespout-forming area is derived as a remnant from a semi-rigid materialstrip that acts as a pouch-forming tacking strip during a pouch formingprocess and wherein the spout-forming area reinforces at least a part ofthe pouch at the pouch expressing shape first closure end; and whereinthe separate rigid foldable flat overlaps the spout-forming area tocradle the spout-forming area with the cradled pouch; and a creaseextending longitudinally in the flat and along the pouch to facilitatefolding or rolling the more rigid flat to compress the pouch with thespout-forming area to express a content through the expressing-shapedfirst closure end; and a sealant contained within the at least onepouch.

In an embodiment, the invention is a packet for viscous material thatcomprises a pouch comprising: an expressing-shaped first closure end anda second closure end and at least two opposing sidewalls; the closureends and sidewalls defining an enclosure, and at least one closure endcomprising an expressing shape; a separate rigid foldable flat cradlingthe pouch and comprising a material that is more rigid than the pouch;wherein the pouch comprises a spout-forming area separate from the pouchand the rigid foldable flat and positioned on a rigid foldable flat sideof the packet and of intermediate rigidity or thickness to the pouch andthe rigid foldable flat, wherein the spout-forming area is derived as aremnant from a semi-rigid material strip that acts as a pouch-formingtacking strip during a pouch forming process and wherein thespout-forming area reinforces at least a part of the pouch at the pouchexpressing shape first closure end; and wherein the separate rigidfoldable flat overlaps the spout-forming area to cradle thespout-forming area with the cradled pouch; and a crease extendinglongitudinally in the flat and along the pouch to facilitate folding orrolling the more rigid flat to compress the pouch with the spout-formingarea to express a content through the expressing-shaped first closureend.

And in another embodiment, the invention is a packet, comprising: apouch having at least two opposing sidewalls; a first closure end; and asecond closure end; the sidewalls and closure ends defining anenclosure; and at least one closure end comprising an expressing shapecomprising a reinforcing material derived as a remnant from a semi-rigidmaterial tacking strip for opposing walls formed from a foldedpouch-forming web of film, wherein the reinforcing material forms afunnel-shape to facilitate expressing of material from the enclosure asa bead.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematic perspective views of a packet, front andback;

FIG. 3 is a cut-away view through A-A of the FIG. 2 packet;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the packet, showing structures thatcomprise the packet;

FIG. 5 is a schematic elevation of an apparatus for forming and fillinga flexible package;

FIGS. 6 and 7, are schematic perspective views of stages or stations ofthe apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 8A, 8B, 9A, 9B, 9B, 9D, 10A and 10B are schematic illustrations offunctions of stages or stations of the apparatus of FIG. 1; and

FIGS. 11, 12, 13, 14,15 and 16 are schematic perspective views of use ofthe packet; and

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a kit and FIG. 18 is a perspective viewof a kit with a plurality of packets.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The term “sealant” as used herein includes an entire variety of caulksincluding silicones, latex and acrylic caulk; filler compounds; adhesiveor mastic-type materials, such as stucco, concrete andcementious-material patching and crack filling compounds; gasketingcompounds; gutter, flashing, skylight, or fish tank seam or sealantcompounds; butyl or rubber sealants, cements and caulk; roof cements;panel and construction adhesives; glazing compounds and caulks; gutterand lap sealants; silica gel-based firebrick, masonry and ceramic crackfillers and cements; silicone-based glues; ethylene glycol-containinglatex glazing compounds; and the like.

One preferred sealant is an organopolysiloxane room temperaturevulcanizable (RTV) composition. The room temperature vulcanizablesilicone elastomer composition can contain a silanol stopped basepolymer or elastomer, reinforcing and/or extending filler, cross-linkingsilane and cure catalyst. These RTV compositions are prepared by mixingdiorganopolysiloxanes having reactive end groups with organosiliconcompounds that possess at least three hydrolyzably reactive moieties permolecule. The known RTV compositions are widely used as elastic sealingmaterials for applications involving the gaps between various jointssuch as: gaps between the joints of structures; joints betweenstructural bodies and building materials in buildings; gaps between abathtub and wall or floor; cracks on tiles in bathrooms; gaps in thebathroom such as those around the washbasin and those between awashbasin supporting board and a wall; gaps around a kitchen sink andthe vicinity; spacings between panels in automobiles, railroad vehicles,airplanes and ships; gaps between prefabricated panels in variouselectric appliances, machines; and the like. Room temperaturevulcanizable silicone sealants thus may be utilized in a wide variety ofcaulking and sealing applications.

Features of the invention will become apparent from the drawings andfollowing detailed discussion, which by way of example withoutlimitation describe preferred embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 illustrate an embodiment of theinvention. FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematic perspective views of a packet,front and back and FIG. 3 is a cut-away view through A-A of the FIGS. 1and 2 packet. FIG. 1 is a front view of the packet 10. FIG. 2 is afrontal perspective of the packet 10. FIG. 3 is a cut away side view ofthe packet 10. FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the packet 10, showingupper and lower walls, 18, 20 that form pouch 12, flat 14 andtrapezoid-shaped area 16 of rigid or thicker material than the materialmaking up the walls 18, 20.

The packet 10 comprises a pouch 12 of plastic or foil film, a rigid flat14 comprising a more rigid or thicker material than the pouch 12 filmand the trapezoid-shaped area 16. The area 16 comprises a shapedmaterial of intermediate thickness and rigidity between that of thematerial of the pouch 12 film and the material of the flat 14. In theembodiment shown in the figures, area 16 is trapezoidal-shaped withslanted sides from the sidewalls of the flat 14 toward the packet tipend 20. The trapezoid-shaped area 16 forms a tapered nozzle as shown inFIGs. 13, 14 and 15 when folded or rolled with the rigid flat 14.

The pouch 12 can be heat-sealed or otherwise cradled to the flat 14 asshown in FIG. 3 and FIGS. 12-15. A first closure end 22 of pouch 12forms an expressing shape tip 24. In FIGS. 1, 3 and 5, the more rigidflat 14 has crease 26 that can be a fold or score running along thelongitudinal axis of the more rigid flat 14 from first closure end 22 toa second closure end 28. The crease 26 is marked into the flat 14surface to facilitate longitudinal folding of the packet 10, ashereinafter described. The crease 26 can be a pressed, folded, wrinkled,embossed line or score. The crease 26 can run generally longitudinal toa long axis of the packet 10 from one end 28 of the packet 10 toward thetip end 22.

The packet 10 further includes a semicircular-shaped tear tab 30 tofacilitate opening closure end 22.

The crease 26 promotes longitudinal folding of opposite rigid flatsections against the pouch 12 to compress the pouch 12 to expresssealant 24 from the pouch 12 interior. The more rigid flat 14 comprisesa rigid or conformable surface that is configured to form cradlingcompression surfaces against pouch 12 when folded by a force applied toopposite sections of rigid flat 14 as hereinafter described. The morerigid flat 14 can be a flat comprising any material that is moreinflexible or rigid than the pouch 12 material. S shown in 4,trapezoid-shaped area 16 on the rigid flat 14 side of the packet 10comprises a shaped strip of intermediate thickness and rigidity betweenthe material of the pouch 12 and the material of the flat 14.

Materials suitable for pouch 12 include single layer, co-extruded orlaminated film or foil. The pouch 12 material can be impermeable or onlyslightly permeable to water vapor and oxygen to assure contentviability. For example, the film can have a moisture vapor transportrate (MVTR, ASTM D3833) of less than 10 g/day/m². In an embodiment, theMVTR of the film is less than 5 g/day/m² and preferably less than 1g/day/m² and most preferably of less than 0.5 g/day/m². Preferably thematerial has a permeability rating of 1 or lower. Suitable filmmaterials include a plastic film, such as low-density polyethylene orother thermoplastic or foil film material such as polypropylene,polystyrene or poly-ethylene-terephtalate. The foil is a thin, flexibleleaf or sheet of metal such as aluminum foil for example. The pouch 12film can be of various thicknesses. The film thickness can be between 10and 150 μm, preferably between 15 and 120 μm, more preferably between 20and 100 μm, even more preferably between 25 and 80 μm and mostpreferably between 30 and 40 μm.

In one embodiment, the film is a polyethylene and biorientedpolypropylene coextruded film. An aluminum foil is a preferred pouch 12film material. Suitable foil can be derived from aluminum prepared inthin sheets with a thickness less than 0.2 mm/0.008 in, although muchthinner gauges down to 0.006 mm can be used. A suitable foil cancomprise a laminate with other materials such as a plastic or paper.

The more rigid flat 14 comprises a substantially rigid substrate with afold-imparting crease 26 or a substantially conformal substrate that canbe rolled or folded against the pouch 12. The rolling or foldingcompresses the pouch 12 to cause sealant 24 to be expressed from pouch12 interior through a nozzle 24 formed at the end 22. The material ofthe more rigid flat 14 is substantially inflexible and less compliantthan the material of top film 12. In this application, the term “rigid”means having the physical property of being stiff and resistant tobending. In an embodiment, the bottom material 14 is more rigid asmeasured in accordance with a Taber Stiffness method such as the ASTMD1044 Taber test.

The flat 14 can comprise a suitable material such as cardboard,paperboard, corrugated board and any wood-based type of paper or rigidor semi-rigid plastic sheet material. Cardstock is a suitable more rigidmaterial. Cardstock thickness is often described by pound weight. Poundweight is the weight of 500, 20″ by 26″ sheets. In the US, cardstockthickness is usually measured in points or mils that gives the thicknessof the sheet in thousanths of an inch. For example, a 10 pt. more rigidflat is 0.010 inches thick; 12 pt. is 0.012 inches.

The flat 14 can comprise a combination of paperboards, usually two flatpieces of paper and one inner fluted corrugated medium. Further suitablemore rigid flat materials include stiff paper, cardboard, pasteboard orpaperboard including corrugated paperboard and polyethylene such as0.0015 inch high density polyethylene. The more rigid flat 14 cancomprise a substantially rigid material such as a thermoplastic, forexample ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene). One preferred flat 14material is a paperboard that is 10 mils or 0.010 inches in thickness orgreater.

Corrugated fiberboard is a preferred material for flat 14. Corrugatedfiberboard has two main components: a linerboard and a medium. Both canbe made of a heavy paper called containerboard. Linerboard is a flatfacing that adheres to the medium. The medium is typically an innerfluted corrugated material. The corrugated board can be one medium gluedto one flat sheet of linerboard, a medium between two sheets oflinerboard and even three sheets of linerboard with two mediums between.The fluted medium forms rigid arched columns that can resist bending andpressure from all directions. It has been found that a corrugated boardserves especially well as a flat to cradle a sealant-filled pouch to aidin expressing sealant as hereinafter described with reference to FIGS.12 through 16.

In embodiments, the pouch 12 comprises a multilayer polymer laminatealong with an aluminum layer having a thickness between about 0.0045 andabout 0.0065, preferably about 0.0055 inches. The area 16 comprises highdensity polyethylene (HDPE) having a thickness between about 0.012 and0.018 inches, preferably about 0.015 inches. The rigid material 14comprises corrugated fiberboard having a thickness between about 0.045and 0.060, preferably between 0.050 and 0.055 inches.

The suitable pouch 12, flat 14 and area 16 materials can be subject tothe proviso that the rigidity of the flat 14 material is greater thanthat of the pouch 12 material and the rigidity of area 16 material isintermediate between that of the pouch 12 and that of the flat 14materials.

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a preferred embodiment of theinvention showing modules of an apparatus 110 for forming and filling aflexible package. The apparatus 110 includes a forming stage 112 and afilling/final stage 114. FIG. 5 shows an in-feed module 122 that directsa web of film 156 and a semi-rigid material strip 176 in a machineprocessing direction to a first pouch forming stage 124. It is an aspectof the invention, that pouch area 16, which is trapezoidal-shaped in theembodiment of the drawings, is derived from semi-rigid material strip176 as hereinafter described in detail.

In further reference to FIG. 5, the apparatus 110 includes agusset-forming station 126 that folds the web of film 156 to thesemi-rigid material strip 176 so that the semi-rigid strip is between apair of opposing film walls; a rocker arm tacking station 128 thatattaches the strip to one of the pair of opposing walls; sealingstations 130 and 132 that sequentially seal opposing walls of the web offilm together at spaced sealing regions to form pouches between thesealed regions; first cooling station 134 and bottom die cutter 136 toform a gusseted pouch blank. Feed roller 138 feeds the gusseted pouchblank to filling/final stage 114. Filling/final stage 114 includesinflating station 140 where the pouch is blown open, fill station 142 tofill the pouch with product, de-airing station 144 that removes air fromthe filled pouch, first top seal station 146 that applies a first seal,second top seal station 148 that applies a second seal, second coolingstation 150 to cool the pouch, top die cutter station 152 to cut topblank material from the pouch and pick off area 154.

The apparatus 110 produces pouches from a continuous web of material156. FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show sections of in-feed module 122 of theapparatus 110. Referring to FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, a roll of weblaminate 156 is rotatably connected by means of reel 158. The reel 158is driven by the same motor (not shown) as the drive of reel 180(hereinafter described) to apply the same tension to laminate 156 as tothe semi-rigid material 176. The web 156 is fed from reel 158 via rack160 that includes pinion 162 that is controlled by idler shaft 164 toapply a tension to rollers 166, as shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B. The web156 is threaded over the tension rollers 166 to first pouch formingstage 124 that includes plow assembly 168 (shown in detail in FIG. 9Aand FIG. 9B) for folding the web 156 to form side panels 170 joined at acommon bottom edge 172. The upper pouch forming wall 118 can be pleatedto allow for an increased volume of a sealant 124.

FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show an in-feed module 174. Shown is a spoolof semi-rigid material strip 176. In one embodiment, the semi-rigidmaterial strip 176 can be a high density polyethylene or co-extrusion ofmetallocene and high density polyethylene. The semi-rigid material strip176 is fed as a strip from reel 180 over idler 182 via rack 184 andpinion 186 assembly (shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B) via constant tensionrollers 188 to first pouch forming stage 124. The reel 180 may be drivenby a dedicated unwind motor (not shown) for varying an unwind speed oras in the embodiment, driven with the same motor together with web 156.

FIG. 8A shows a rack 190 and pinion 192 to feed web laminate 156 andFIG. 8B shows a rack 194 and pinion 196 to feed semi-rigid materialstrip 176. Rack 190 and pinion 192 include downward biasing spring 198.The spring loaded rack 194 bobs up and to down so that the feed roller138 imparts a constant tension under periodic transient feed motion toweb 156. Pinion 196 includes bottom % biasing spring 200 (weak spring)that follows the periodic feed motion imparted to web 156. The pinion196 is preloaded at the top with weights 202. The spring 200 and weight202 combination biases the rack away from the material strip 176 toavoid a harsh back-pressure tug on the feeding material strip 176.

Gusset-forming station 126 folds the web of film 156 to the semi-rigidstrip 176 so that the semi-rigid strip 176 is between a pair of opposingfilm walls; rocker arm tacking station 128 attaches the strip 176 to oneof the pair of opposing film walls; sealing stations 130 and 132sequentially seal opposing walls of the web of film together at spacedsealing regions to form pouches between the sealed regions; and firstcooling station 134 and bottom die cutter 136 form a gusseted pouchblank. Feed roller 138 feeds the gusseted pouch blank to filling finalstage 114. Filling final stage 14 includes inflating station 140 where apouch is blown open, fill station 142 to fill the pouch with product,de-airing station 144 that removes air from the filled pouch, first topseal station 146 that applies a first seal, second top seal station 148,second cooling station 150 to cool the pouch, top die cutter station 152to cut top blank material from the pouch to form a narrowed neckadjacent a first closure end of the pouch blank 210 and pick off area154.

FIG. 9A shows functioning of gusset forming station 126 including HDPEidler 204, vertical crease bars 206 and gusset-forming plow 168. Weblaminate 156 is oriented to the vertical so that imprinting on the weblaminate 56 is to the top vertical. The strip 176 is twisted fromhorizontal feed to a vertical feed. The laminate 156 is then foldedbottom to top against the strip 176 to form a pouch blank 210. The plow168 then forms a W-shaped laminate bottom edge by supporting the pouchblank 210 at upper lines on either pouch blank side and imposing into amiddle line between the lower supported lines to form a gusset shape orroughly W-shaped cross section. Then, the supported W-shape is creasedthrough vertical crease bars 206 to form blank 210 shown in FIG. 98.

The FIG. 9B blank 210 next is conveyed to rocker arm tacking station 128as shown in FIG. 5. Details of the tacking station are shown in FIGS.10A and 10B. FIG. 10A is a side elevation view of the rocker arm tackingstation 128 and FIG. 10B is an exploded, perspective view of the station128 and lower guide 226. In FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B, the station 128includes upper heated bar 216 and upper cooler bar 218. A guide bar (notshown) can hold the blank semi-rigid strip 176 that forms blank 210(FIG. 9B) for back side tacking to web laminate 156. Guide 226 maintainsthe pouch gusset and prevents web laminate 156 from sagging.

Referring again to FIG. 5, a succession of flexible packages is formedand filled by in-feeding a web laminate 156 and semi-rigid materialstrip 176 in parallel to a first pouch forming stage 124. The web 156 isfolded at first pouch forming stage 124 into have a pair of opposingwalls with the semi-rigid strip 176 held in between ends of the foldedweb 156 walls. The semi-rigid strip 176 is attached to one of the formedopposing walls. A gusset can be formed in the folded web 156 bottom atgusset-forming station 126. Then the opposing walls of the web of film156 are sealed together at spaced sealing regions at sealing stations130 and 132 to form pouches between the sealed regions. At top diecutter station 152, a section of the sealing regions is removed at alower portion to provide multiple pouches connected at an upper portion.Then the pouches can be separated from the folded web of film 156 toprovide an individual pouch and an interior section of the individualpouch can be filled with a flowable material through an opening in theupper portion of the pouch. Or conversely, the pouches can first befilled and then separated to provide the individual pouches.

A top sealed region is formed at first top seal station 146 and secondtop seal station 148 to close the opening in the pouch where the pouchwas filled. A portion of the top sealed region can then be removed attop die cutter station 152 to form a plurality of final filled flexiblepouches of the type identified as 12 in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4

The removal also forms an interior trapezoid-shaped piece, identified as16 in FIGs. 1, 2, 3 and 4. Packet 10 is then formed by sealing (notshown) pouch 12 onto flat 14. FIGs. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 areschematic perspective views illustrating a use of the packet 10. In FIG.11, the packet 10 is held in one hand while opened with the other handby tearing away tab 30 as illustrated. In applying a viscous materialsuch as a caulk, the packet 10 can be grasped by hand with pouch 12 sideup as shown in FIG. 12. Thumb 32 and second finger 34 are located onopposing edges 36, 38 of the more rigid flat 14. Index finger 40 isimpressed against pouch 12 toward crease 26 to commence folding of morerigid flat 14. With the force applied by thumb 32 and second finger 34to opposing edges 36, 38, the packet 10 begins to fold along crease 26.Folding can be facilitated by a user imposing the length of index finger40 against the pouch 12 while the side force is applied by thumb 32 andsecond finger 34 as shown in FIG. 12. In this example, more rigid flat14 comprises a substantially rigid material with planar face underlyingthe pouch 12 that cradles the pouch 12 as more rigid flat 14 is foldedalong crease 26 as shown in FIG. 13.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the folding drives enclosed sealant 24 fromwithin pouch 12 up through tip-shaped first closure end 20 as shown inFIG. 13. Initially, the sealant 24 can be contained within the pouch 12of the packet 10 and the shaped area 16 will be flat and devoid ofsealant 24. But, as the packet 10 is folded and pressed as shown in FIG.13, the sealant is forced into area 16. The area 16 is derived fromsemi-rigid strip 176 during the forming and filling process describedwith reference to FIGS. 5-10 as described above. As the packet isfolded, area 16 forms the expressing tip shape 24.

The substantially rigid structure formed from the folding of two sidesof the packet 10 can be firmly held and guided to express a controlledsealant bead 218 from area 16 as shown in FIGS. 13, 14 and 15. The area16 is shaped to allow sealant to fill the rest of the tip and flow fromthe tip. The area 16 can be shaped to an appropriate bead size, forexample, ⅛^(th) inch in diameter. A user can further regulate bead sizeby applied pressure and speed as illustrated in FIGS. 13, 14 and 15.Once sealant bead 218 has been applied and the pouch 12 voided ofmaterial, the empty packet 10 can be discarded as illustrated in FIG.16.

FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 illustrate an embodiment of the invention wherein aplurality of packets 10 are provided in a kit 50. The kit 50 includes anenclosure 52, which is a box-shaped structure with a “punch-out” section54 comprises a wall section 56 of the box with extending fingers 58having securing tab ends 60 defined on either side of the enclosure 52.The “punch-out” section 54 is defined into the structure 52 by serratedembossing that is separated from the enclosure structure 52 and foldedoutwardly to present the enclosure 52 contents as shown in FIG. 18. Theenclosure 52 is sealed at the top for transportation but the top can beremoved to further present the kit 50 packet 10 content as shown in FIG.18. The contents comprise a plurality of packets 10. The plurality ofpackets 10 can be the same shape or a variety of shapes or the same sizeor a variety of sizes, for example 8 cm×6 cm or 4 cm by 2 cm to providemeasured amounts of sealant for a variety of jobs. The kit 50 provides avariety of sized packets 10 so that one packet 10 can be selected tomatch the requirements of any particular job.

A selected packet 10 from a kit of the invention can provide a desiredamount of sealant for any particular job. No caulk gun is needed toapply the sealant. Indeed, no extra tools or materials are needed. Thepacket is relatively small and easily maneuverable to apply anappropriate bead. Appropriately sized beads can be formed astrapezoid-shaped area 16 folds into a tip shape to express a desiredbead. In this respect, the shaped area 16 is multifunctional. The area16 is derived as a remnant of semi-rigid material strip 176 that acts asa tacking structure to form pouch 12 during the pouch manufacturingprocess. The packet requires little application of force for dispensingand in most instances, sealant can be fully dispensed by one hand.Saving left over caulk is eliminated. Both kit and packet packaging areinexpensive.

EXAMPLES

In this evaluation, each user squeezed a caulk-containing packet withone hand. Users then rated the packets on accurate dispensing, percentof dispensing and ease of use. The packets were evaluated accordinglyand also according to manufacturability and cost.

Example 1

This EXAMPLE describes a series of iterative evaluations of packetsamples to determine a best more rigid material.

First, a range of materials including a paperboard, plastic sheet andcorrugated fiberboard were evaluated for output performance. Samplepaperboard thickness was varied from approximately 0.010″ to 0.100″; ahigh density polyethylene sheet (HDPE) was varied in thickness fromapproximately 0.005″ to 0.100″; and a corrugated fiberboard corrugationwas varied from B flute to N flute.

User ratings determined that a paperboard with a thickness less thanapproximately 0.080″ did not have sufficient stiffness for acceptabledispensing and “ease of use.” A thicker paperboard gave improvedperformance results but was rated unacceptable because of bulky feel.Thinner HDPE samples below 0.040″ in thickness, were rated unacceptablebecause of insufficient stiffness. Thicker HDPE samples showed improvedperformance but increased cost.

Performance for corrugated fiberboard was best in the E- and F-fluterange. The letter designation relates to flute size or refers to thenumber of flutes per lineal foot. An E-flute has 90+/−4 flutes perlineal foot and a flute thickness of 1/16 inch and an F-flute has128+/−4 flutes per lineal foot and a flute thickness of 1/32 inch. TheE-fluted and F-fluted corrugated fiberboard packets had a single handeduse dispensing percentage of approximately 80% and greater. The E-flutecorrugated fiberboards also received the best “ease of use” ratings.

Example 2

Another series of tests was conducted to determine a best performingpacket in terms of sealant bead shape. A standard bead was defined as adeposit of sealant with a circular cross section.

First tested packets had only a top film pouch and thicker bottommaterial sidewall. The thicker material sidewall was folded to form anozzle. However, the nozzles formed from the folded sidewall wereflexible and formed a non-uniform bead. A bead cross section wouldinitiate in a shape of a thin horizontal diamond. Then later in thedispensing, the bead cross section would be formed in the unacceptableshape of a thin vertical diamond. Furthermore, the top film tended toform sharper folds and creases at the nozzle, making the cross sectionless uniform.

In the tests of this EXAMPLE, a semi-rigid material was added to onesidewall adjacent to the packet tip end. In these EXAMPLES, when themore rigid material sidewall was folded along its longitudinal axis tosqueeze the pouch, the semi-rigid material bent in a controlled mannerto a substantially U-expressing shape. The U-expressing shape ensuredthat one half of the cross section was more uniform and round andconstrained edges of the flexible sidewall to provide a uniform andround expressed bead.

Example 3

3HDPE was selected as a cost-acceptable material for a top film pouch.The HDPE was found to adhere to the rigid foldable sidewall material. Inexpressing tests, the HDPE materials cooperated with the U-expressingshape in forming a desirable cross section bead. Optimum HDPE wasdetermined through a series of experiments on 0.005″ to 0.030″ thickHDPE. A 0.015″ thickness was found to have the best performance of thatrange of materials in forming bead cross section.

Example 4

a linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), melting point 248° F., 0.009to 0.10 mm thick material was used as the web laminate 56 material andan HDPE material, melting point 266° F., 0.008 to 0.10 mm thick (HDPE)was used as the semi-rigid strip 176. The tacking station 128 includedlower gusset seal bars 124 that sealed the lower gusseted end of theblank pouch. Upper heating bar 116 was heated to about 319° F. Cool airfrom a cooling tube blows on an inner side of the upper cool bar 128 tomaintain one side of the cool bar 118 at approximately ambient (72° F.),a lower temperature than the approximate 319° F. heated side of theheated bar 16. Then, sealing of one wall to the laminate 56 isaccomplished by selective heating and pressuring according to the heatcapacities, thicknesses of the wall and strip and dwell time of theheating/cooling application In the example, the temperature differentialbetween bars 116, 118 along with a tacking pressure (0.2 to 10.0pounds/in²) and dwell time (0.5 to 8 seconds), prevents the seal fromentirely closing the blank so that the blank can be filled with productat a later station. In this embodiment, the heating bar 116 can be at atemperature from about 265° F. to about 340° F., preferably at atemperature from about 310° F. to about 330° F. and the temperature ofbar 118 can be at a temperature from about 72° F. to about 100° F.,preferably at about ambient.

In a method to form a squeezable package with adjusting relativetemperatures at a rocker arm tacking station 128, a blank is advancedthrough a sealing section of the apparatus 110 in which a number ofpouch forming operations take place. FIG. 5 shows sealing section 130and sealing station 132. The two sealing sections divide side seal tasksinto two separate operations. This overcomes any problem with variationin the strip 176 location, which otherwise could result in an impropersealing of the web laminate 156 to the strip 176.

Referring again to FIG. 5, at cooling station 34, 40° C. water flowsthrough sides of a cooling tool to properly cool blank 210 to allowshearing of web laminate 56. Blank 210 is shaped at bottom die cutter136. The pouch blank 210 is inflated at inflation station 40 and filledwith product at fill station 142. Here, vacuum suction cups can beapplied to an outer surface of opposing walls of the pouch 210 to holdthe pouch open while filling. Air is removed from the pouch blank 210 atde-airing station 144. The blank 210 is top sealed at first top sealstation 146 and second top seal station 48 and cooled at second coolingstation 150.

In an embodiment, apparatus 10 can be used to produce a strip ofmultiple pouches. In this embodiment, a portion of sealed regions at alower portion can be removed to provide multiple pouches connected by atan upper portion. The connected pouches can be separated at connectingweb 56 to provide individual 14 pouches. Interiors of the individualpouches can be filled with flowable material through an opening in anupper portion of the pouch. Then, a top sealed region of the pouch canbe closed and excess material removed from the top region by a diecutter to form a shaped spout area tapering toward the top sealedopening with a portion of the semi-rigid material strip adjacent thesealed opening to reinforce the opening.

In an embodiment, a pouch produced by apparatus 110, can be applied to aflat or card and filled with a sealant such as a caulk, to form apackage, for example, a flexible package according to FIGS. 1, 2,3 and4.

In this application, a “pouch” is a bag or container to hold material. Apackage” a packet or container bundle that may include a pouch. FIGS. 7and 8 are schematic perspective views of a flexible package, front andback and FIG. 9 is a cut-away view through A-A of the FIGS. 7 and 8flexible package. The figures show the flexible package 210 comprising apouch 212 supported by a foldable flat 214. The size of fillableflexible package 210 can vary, but in some embodiments can be about 20±5cm by 15±3 cm or smaller.

The fillable flexible packet 10 comprises pouch 12 of plastic or foilfilm formed from web laminate 156 in the forming method described above.The pouch 12 further includes flat 14 comprising a more rigid or thickermaterial than the pouch 12 film and a spout-forming area 16 on the rigidflat 14 side of the fillable flexible packet 10. The area 16 comprises ashaped semi-rigid material of intermediate thickness and rigiditybetween that of the material of the film 12 and the material of thepouch 12. The rigidity can be imparted from the section of semi-rigidstrip 176 that is used in the forming process to tack web laminate 156.In the embodiment shown in the figures, area 16 is trapezoidal-shapedwith slanted sides from the rigid material sidewall toward the tip end24 that forms a tapered nozzle 24 when folded or rolled with the rigidflat 14. In forming packet 10, the flat or “back card” 14, can be foldedto bow the semi-rigid material 176 behind shaped area 16 to define anarcuate outlet adjacent an opening at the first closure end 20.

The fillable pouch 12 further includes a semicircular-shaped tear tab 30to facilitate opening at the tip 24. The top film can be pleated toallow for an increased volume of a sealant and the bottom can comprise agusset to accommodate an increased amount of fill material.

The pouch 12 can be heat-sealed or otherwise cradled to the flat 14 asshown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14. A first closure end of pouch 12 forms anexpressing shape tip 24. The more rigid flat 14 has crease 26 that canbe a fold or score running along the longitudinal axis of the more rigidflat 14 from tip 24 to a second closure end 28. The crease 26 is markedinto the flat 14 surface to facilitate longitudinal folding of thefillable flexible packet 10. The crease 26 can be a pressed, folded,wrinkled, embossed line or score. The crease 26 can run generallylongitudinal to a long axis of the fillable flexible packet 10 from oneend of the fillable flexible packet 10 toward the tip end 24. The crease26 promotes longitudinal folding of opposite rigid flat sections againstthe pouch 12 to compress the pouch 12 to express sealant from the pouch12 interior. The more rigid flat 14 comprises a rigid or conformablesurface that is configured to form cradling compression surfaces againstpouch 12 when folded by a force applied to rigid flat 14 oppositesections. The more rigid flat 14 can be a flat comprising any materialthat is more inflexible or rigid than the pouch 12 material. An area 16(from semi-rigid material strip 176) along a top interior portion ofpouch 12 at area 16, comprises a shaped strip of intermediate thicknessand rigidity between the material of the pouch 22 and the material ofthe flat 14.

Materials suitable for pouch 12 include single layer, co-extruded orlaminated film or foil. Preferably the material has a permeabilityrating of 1 or lower. Suitable film materials include a plastic film,such as low-density polyethylene or other thermoplastic or foil filmmaterial such as polypropylene, polystyrene orpolyethylene-terephthalate. The foil is a thin, flexible leaf or sheetof metal such as aluminum foil for example. In one embodiment, the filmis a polyethylene and bi-oriented polypropylene co-extruded film. Analuminum foil is a preferred pouch 12 film material. Suitable foil canbe derived from aluminum prepared in thin sheets 16 with a thicknessless than 0.2 mm/0.008 in, although much thinner gauges down to 0.006 mmcan be used. A suitable foil can comprise a laminate with othermaterials such as a plastic or paper.

The pouch 12 material can be impermeable or only slightly permeable towater vapor and oxygen to assure content viability. For example, thefilm can have a moisture vapor transport rate (MVTR, ASTM D3833) of lessthan 10 g/day/m². In an embodiment, the MVTR of the film is less than 5g/day/m² and preferably less than 1 g/day/m2 and most preferably of lessthan 0.5 g/day/m². The pouch 212 film can be of various thicknesses. Thefilm thickness can be between 10 and 150 μm, preferably between 15 and120 μm, more preferably between 20 and 100 μm, even more preferablybetween 25 and 80 μm and most preferably between 30 and 40 μm. In anembodiment, the pouch 12 comprises a bi-axle oriented nylon (printlayer), adhesive and a PET layer adhered to a liner low densitypolyethylene film.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been described, thepresent invention is capable of variation and modification and thereforeshould not be limited to the precise details of the Examples. Theinvention includes changes and alterations that fall within the purviewof the following claims.

1. A packet for viscous material, comprising: a pouch comprising: anexpressing-shaped first closure end and a second closure end and atleast two opposing sidewalls; the closure ends and sidewalls defining anenclosure, and at least one closure end comprising an expressing shape;a separate rigid foldable flat cradling the pouch and comprising amaterial that is more rigid than the pouch; and a spout-forming areaseparate from the pouch and the rigid foldable flat and positioned on arigid foldable flat side of the packet and of intermediate rigidity orthickness to the pouch and the rigid foldable flat, wherein thespout-forming area is derived as a remnant from a semi-rigid materialstrip that acts as a pouch-forming tacking strip during a pouch formingprocess and wherein the spout-forming area reinforces at least a part ofthe pouch at the pouch expressing shape first closure end; and whereinthe separate rigid foldable flat overlaps the spout-forming area tocradle the spout-forming area with the cradled pouch; and a creaseextending longitudinally in the flat and along the pouch to facilitatefolding or rolling the more rigid flat to compress the pouch with thespout-forming area to express content through the expressing-shapedfirst closure end.
 2. The packet of claim 1, wherein the more rigid flatcomprises a stiff paper, cardstock, fiberboard or thermoplasticmaterial.
 3. (canceled)
 4. The packet of claim 1, wherein the more rigidflat comprises a fluted corrugated medium sandwiched between flat paperpieces.
 5. (canceled)
 6. (canceled)
 7. The packet of claim 1, whereinthe more rigid flat comprises the crease extending along the pouchbetween the two closure ends to facilitate folding or rolling the rigidflat and wherein the crease is a longitudinal divide in the rigid flatsections configured to form cradling compression surfaces against theenclosure.
 8. (canceled)
 9. The packet of claim 1, wherein the pouchcomprises a multilayer polymer and aluminum layer laminate having athickness between about 0.0045 and about 0.0075.
 10. (canceled) 11.(canceled)
 12. The packet of claim 1, wherein the more rigid flatcomprises corrugated fiberboard having a thickness between about 0.045and 0.065.
 13. (canceled)
 14. (canceled)
 15. (canceled)
 16. The packetof claim 1, comprising a funnel shapeable reinforcing material at anexpressing end that forms a shape to facilitate expressing of thematerial as a bead.
 17. The packet of claim 1, comprising a reinforcingmaterial at the expressing-shaped closure end, wherein the reinforcingmaterial is trapezoidal-shaped with slanted sides toward the expressingclosure end to form a tapered nozzle when folded or rolled with therigid flat.
 18. The packet of claim 1, comprising a reinforcing materialat an expressing end that forms a funnel-shape to facilitate expressingof the material as a bead wherein the reinforcing material is a shapedarea comprising high density polyethylene (HDPE) having a thicknessbetween about 0.012 and 0.018 inches.
 19. The packet of claim 1,comprising a reinforcing material at an expressing end that forms afunnel-shape to facilitate expressing of the material as a bead whereinthe reinforcing material is a shaped area comprising high densitypolyethylene (HDPE) having a thickness about 0.015 inches.
 20. Thepacket of claim 1, comprising a reinforcing material at an expressingend wherein the more rigid fiat is substantially more rigid than thepouch and rigidity of the reinforcing material is intermediate betweenthat of the pouch and that of the material.
 21. (canceled) 22.(canceled)
 23. (canceled)
 24. (canceled)
 25. (canceled)
 26. (canceled)27. The packet of claim 1, comprising a pouch having dimensions of 20 cmto 4 cm by 15 cm to 2 cm with a filled thickness of 0.5 cm to 2 cm. 28.(canceled)
 29. (canceled)
 30. The packet of claim 1, comprising a pouchholding an amount of caulk sealant portioned or measured to seal anidentified job.
 31. (canceled)
 32. (canceled)
 33. (canceled) 34.(canceled)
 35. A method of forming and filling a squeezable package, themethod comprising: directing a web of flexible film and a semi-rigidstrip in a machine direction; folding the web of film to have a pair ofopposing walls having a front wall and a back wall and positioning thestrip between the front and back wall; selectively sealing a firstopposing wall to the strip but not a second of the opposing walls toform an opening; removing sections from the folded web of film toprovide multiple pouches connected at an upper portion thereof;separating the connected pouches from the web of film to provide atleast one individual pouch with an upper opening; filling an interiorsection of the at least one individual pouch through the upper openingof the at least one pouch with a flowable material; sealing the secondopposing wall to the strip to close the opening; and removing anon-linear section in the upper portion of the pouch to form thesqueezable package having a trapezoid-shaped inner section derived as aremnant from the strip.
 36. (canceled)
 37. (canceled)
 38. The method ofclaim 35, comprising identifying melt temperature of the web of film andselectively attaching the strip to only one of the opposing walls bycontrolling heating to the identified melt temperature of one ofopposing walls of the pair to define an opening between upper edges ofthe opposing walls.
 39. The method of claim 1, wherein the semi-rigidstrip is high density polyethylene and the web of film is linear lowdensity polyethylene.
 40. The method of claim 1 wherein temperatureapplied to one wall is about 265° F. to about 340° F. and to theopposing wall is 72° F. to about 100° F.
 41. The method of claim 1wherein temperature applied to one wall is about 310° F. to about 330°F. and to the opposing wall is at about ambient.
 42. folding the morerigid flat to express the sealant from the packet to an exterior.
 43. Akit, comprising: an enclosure; a plurality of sealed packets containedwithin the enclosure, at least one packet comprising a pouch comprising:an expressing-shaped first closure end and a second closure end and atleast two opposing sidewalls; the closure ends and sidewalls defining anenclosure, and at least one closure end comprising an expressing shape;a separate rigid foldable flat cradling the pouch and comprising amaterial that is more rigid than the pouch; wherein the pouch comprisesa spout-forming area separate from the pouch and the rigid foldable flatand positioned on a rigid foldable flat side of the packet and ofintermediate rigidity or thickness to the pouch and the rigid foldableflat, wherein the spout-forming area is derived as a remnant from asemi-rigid material strip that acts as a pouch-forming tacking stripduring a pouch forming process and wherein the spout-forming areareinforces at least a part of the pouch at the pouch expressing shapefirst closure end; and wherein the separate rigid foldable flat overlapsthe spout-forming area to cradle the spout-forming area with the cradledpouch; and a crease extending longitudinally in the flat and along thepouch to facilitate folding or rolling the more rigid flat to compressthe pouch with the spout-forming area to express a content through theexpressing-shaped first closure end; and a sealant contained within theat least one pouch.
 44. (canceled)
 45. (canceled)
 46. (canceled) 47.(canceled)
 48. (canceled)
 49. (canceled)
 50. (canceled)
 51. (canceled)52. (canceled)
 53. (canceled)
 59. (canceled)